Drain-cleaner for refrigerator-cars.



E. C. STERLING. mum CLEANER ro'a REFRIGERATOR cans.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.28| 191B.

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

11 pail/ 5 7 wviiit l i SL111 772/067 v maid aming Ja /-42 371L1- @DMAA EDWARD CURTIS STERLING, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DRAIN-CLEANER FOR REFRIGERATOR-CABS.

Specification 0! Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

Application filed October 28, 1918. Serial No. 259,977.

To all whom it may concern:

lie. it known that I, EDWARD CURTIS S'ranmxc, a citizen of the United States, rcsiding at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drain Cleaners for Refrigerator-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates -to improvements in attachments for the drain pipes of refrigerator cars and the principal object is to provide. such a device for the purpose of cleaning the drain pipes or tubes and preventing the same from clogging, to prevent flooding of the car.

A further object of this invention is the provision of such a device which will act to perform its function ant/om tioally while the car is in motion and which may be manually actuated at any time to c ean the drain pipe or tube.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means in connection with this device for preventing the passage of a comparatively large uantit of cold air into the car through t e dram pipe or tube m cold weather.

Further objects of this invention include improvements in details of construction and arrangement, whereby a. simple and efi'ective device of this character is provided.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the construction, combination and. arrangement of parts hereinafter described and then sought to be defined in the appended claims, reference being bad to the accompanying draw-- ing fornnng a. part hereof and which shows, merely. for the purpose of illustrative disclosure a preferred embodiment of my invention, it. being expressly understood, however, that various changes may be made in practice within the scope of the claims without digrcssing from my inventive idea.

In the drawings- Figure 1 represents a vertical cross section through the end portion of a standard form of refrigerator car with a device constructed to-cmlmdy my invention, shown in position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section tlu-ough'a device constructed according to myinvention, shown on a scale enlarged over that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal transverse section taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. S2. and looking in direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal i'lill'lSVGlSQ section taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. '2, and looking in the direct ion of the arrows.

Referring first to Fig. l, the numeral 1. designates the bottom or floor of the car. having the. side walls 52 and end walls and provided with the ice tank or compartment 4. Ice racks 5 are provided in this compartment and floor racks 6 are provided within thebody of the car. The bottom of the ice. tank or compartment is provided with a drain tube 7, which projects a short distance above the pans in the bottom thereof and has the float or cap 8 positioned over its upper end, this float or ca 8 be ing larger in diameter than the tu'ic and having the downward annular flange 9 provided with a plurality of out out portions 10. This part of the construction is at present in use. it being seen that the water result ing from the meltingTof the ice is permitted to discharge through the drain tube.

It frequently hap ens that the drain pi e or tube 7 becomes fi led with dirt, from tiic ice, and other sources, and clogs, wherebv the discharge of the water from the ice tan is prevented and a quantity of water backs up in the. ice tank and in the floor of the car, resulting in serious damage to the'coutents of the car. In winter these cars are used without ice and stoves are positioned in the ice tanks, cold air, from the atu10spherc, passing through the drain pipe or tube into the car. In extreme weather, the quantity of air is too great. so that it frequently happens that the contents of the car freeze and is thus materially damaged. It is'to prevent the occurrence of those circumstances that I evolved my invention and it includes means for cleaning the drain tubes, this means acting automatically while the car is in motion. It may also be operated manually and includes means for clos ing the lower end of the drain tube or pipe to prevent admission of too much cold air in the winter weather.

The parts of my invention are suitably supported from the bottom of the car by means of the bracket member 11, which receives the stem of the handle member 12, which passes thcrethrough and is connected to the cleaning or agitating member 13, the other end of which is secured to the ca member 8, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. This cleaning or a hating member 13 is formed with a plurality of projections so that when it is turned or moved it will agitate and scrape any foreign material or matter within the drain pipe or tube. These projections are provided, in the form shown, by bending the wire or rod member into a plurality of loops or bends, and the handle member 12 is a continuation of the agitatin member. The agitating member 8 is yiel ingly supported by means of a ring 14, which rests on the bracket 11 an engages the bottom of the conical valvemember 15.

,This valve member is adapted to fit within and close the lower end of the drain pipe or tube 7 and may be held in place by means of the spring catch or latch 16, as is obvious from a' consideration of Fig. 2, of the.

drawing.

It is seen that in view of the spring sus pension of the agitatin member that when the car is in motion, t e a itating member will be moved, both up an down, and rotated, due to the various movements of the car, which will prevent the accumulation of dirt and other foreign material within the draining tube. The agitating member may also be actuated manually at any time by moving vertically or rotating the handle member 12.

It is, therefore, seen that I have provided a very simple and efiectivc means of preventing the accumulation of dirt or other foreign matter within the drain pipe or tube of a refrigerator car. In addition, when the car is in use inwinter time, the valve member 15 may be moved to its u per position, when held in place by the catc 16, preventing the admission of a large quantity of air i-ntothe drain pipe or tube, with the resultant freezing of the contentsof the can' Suflicifent air to support the combustion of the fuel in the stove .will be admitted by the small opening 17 in the sides of=the drain tubeor pipe.

'Having described my invention, what I claim'isti 1. A device of the character described, in cluding in combination, a drain tube for a refrigerator 'car, an agitati or cleaning er extending through tie drain tube and means for resiliently supporting theagitating or cleaning member from the car, so that movementof the car will cause movement of the agitating and cleaning member.

2. A device of the character described, including in umibination, a drain tube of n rcfri orator car, a cleaning and agitating mom er positioned tl'iercin and means for resiliently supporting said cleaning and ugh tating member whereby movement of the car will cause movement of the agitating and cleaning member.

3. A device of the character described, including in combination with the drain tube, of a refrigerator car, a cleaning and agitating member positioned therein, saidv cleaning and agitating member having a pinrality of projections and l'ncans for resiliently supporting said cleaning and agitating member from the car.

4. A device of the character described, including in combination with the drain tube of a refrigerator car, a float cap for the upper end of said drain tube, a cleaning and agitating member secured to said cap and extending through said drain tube. a handle for manual operation secured to the lower end of said clcanin and agitating member and means for resiliently s11 porting said cleanin and agitating member from the car so t at when the car is moved the cleaning and agitating member will be moved.

5. A device of the character described, including in combination with the drain tube of a refrigerator car, a cleaning and agitating member extending therethrough, comprising a wire formed of a. plurality of loops to provide pro'ections, a handle secured to te lower on of said cleaning and agitating member for manual operation and means for resiliently supporting said cleaning and agitating mom 1' from the car, so that when the car is moved, the cleaning and agitating member will be moved.

6. A device of the character described, including in combination with the drain tube of a refrigerator car, having small openings in the side thereof, of a valve member for closing the lower end of said drain tube, and a latch for holding the valve member in position.

7. A device of the character described, includin in combination with a drain tube of a refrigeratorcar havingsmall openings in the si 0 thereof, of a conical shaped valve for closing the lower end of the said drain tube, a stem for id' the valve, and a latch for holding e conical valve in position.

8. A device of thecharacter described ineluding in combination with the drain tube of a refrigerator car, having small openings in the side thereof, a float cap for the upper end of said drain tube, a cleaning an agitating member secured to sa'id'float cap and extending through said drain tube,

a, handle member connected to the lower end of said cleanin and agitating member, means for resilient y supporting sand cleaning and agitating member from the bottom of the car, a valve member secured to said cleaning and agitating member and normally positioned without the drain tube, said valve member being adapted to be moved to closed position to close the lower end of the tube and means for holding the valve 10 in said closed position.

In testimony whereof I hereunto subscribe my name.

EDWARD CURTIS STERLING. 

